Clairboyance: Chapters 18–23

by Kristiana Kahakauwila
At home, Clara, a middle-schooler in O'ahu, Hawai'i, is torn between moving to Arizona with her Dad and leaving her beloved grandmother and homeland. Then she receives the “gift” of hearing what boys are thinking, which adds further stress to her life by complicating her already tenuous middle school friendships.

Here are links to our lists for the book: Chapters 1–5, Chapters 6–12, Chapters 13–17, Chapters 18–23, Chapters 24–32
15 words 21 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. homebody
    a person who seldom goes anywhere
    “She’s really fun, but she’s more of a homebody than you.”
    “Everyone’s more of a homebody than me.” Mom laughs.
  2. tiff
    a petty quarrel
    “I know, but I thought...Well, I was certain the tiff between you and Leo would blow over. You were happy before.”
  3. fleur-de-lis
    a conventional design shaped like a three-petaled iris
    I run past the Boy Scout camp with its huge fleur-de-lis symbol engraved on a sign.
  4. scraggly
    lacking neatness or order
    “We’re here.”
    “How do you know?” All I see are scraggly brown and green lines. Some loops, circles.
  5. contour
    any spatial attributes, especially as defined by outline
    He points to the paper. “So these loops are elevation lines. A topo map shows the contours of the land, from the highest mountain peak to the lowest valley. Think of it as 3D on a 2D piece of paper.”
  6. orient
    determine one's position with reference to another point
    “How do you know all this?” I ask Denny.
    “My dad and I go hunting a lot. He says I have to learn to read maps, especially if we go to the mainland, because we can’t orient to the ocean there.”
  7. fallow
    left unplowed and unseeded during a growing season
    From there we descend to the lo‘i. Denny adds details to our map. He traces the ‘auwai and draws a rectangle for each taro patch. Then he adds a tiny kalo over the lo‘i that are cultivated and shades the ones that are fallow.
  8. runoff
    the occurrence of surplus liquid exceeding capacity
    When we reach the edge of Tūtū’s property, we pause. We can’t follow the ‘auwai into my neighbors’ yard, so we walk out to the street and down the hill a little, looking for evidence of runoff or water flow.
  9. quip
    make jokes or witty remarks
    “Kumu Apo says she’s going to bring in our parents if we don’t get things figured out on Monday.”
    “The big guns,” Titus quips.
  10. dissipate
    go away, scatter, or disappear
    I hesitate, not sure if I should leave her alone. She lifts the mask off her face and a white puff of aerosolized medicine dissipates in front of her. “I fine,” she says tightly. “Go on.”
  11. touchy
    difficult to handle; requiring great tact
    Tūtū can be touchy about her asthma. So I curl up on the couch and thumb through a magazine. But her shallow breathing is really worrying me.
  12. acrid
    strong and sharp, as a taste or smell
    I can smell the scent of her acrid medication mixing with the sweetness of flowers blooming in the humid afternoon heat. This is what home smells like to me.
  13. barrage
    the rapid and continuous delivery of communication
    As soon as I open the back door, Leo’s thoughts come rushing out. Is Tūtū okay? Does Clara want me here? Is she going to act normal? Am I?
    Somewhere in that barrage he manages to say, “Hi.”
  14. flustered
    thrown into a state of agitated confusion
    “I’m moving to Arizona.” There. I said it. I got it out.
    “What?” WHAT?!?!
    “What?” echoes Auntie Nina. “I mean, when?” She drops her chopsticks she’s so flustered.
  15. downcast
    directed toward a lower place
    “When did he make this decision?” Auntie Nina carefully wipes the rice she dropped, each kernel into her napkin. Her eyes are downcast.
Created on Fri Jul 25 20:32:57 EDT 2025 (updated Tue Aug 12 18:11:16 EDT 2025)

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